Duck Poop

[INchix]

Hi, I am interested in getting ducks, but I've heard they poop everywhere. Is their a way to minimize it? Thx!

 

[Amiga]

We have fenced areas where the ducks spend most of their time, with nice bedding that helps keep the natural breakdown of their poop moving along so there is very little odor. I have asked friends and neighbors to level with me and no one has said the aroma was anything but neutral to pleasant.

Water management in the shelter is a major step to keeping their housing from being nasty. I spend 15 minutes a day on room service for their night pen, then every week or two some extra time replacing bedding, either all (like today, and I am playing hooky right now) of it and that can take an hour or so, or in sections, spending an extra fifteen minutes and doing a section a day so it takes three days to do the whole thing.

 

[Carcajou]

In the coop I use a combo of peat moss and shavings. I add additional shavings once a week (or more often if there is any ammonia odor after turning). I turn it daily and remove some when it gets 6 inches deep. I replace it all 3x per year.

I have lots of room for them to free range and a pond for them to swim on and poop management there is not an issue. They head for the pond first thing every morning and do a major pooping in the water. With no water in the coop they don't poop alot during the night.

 

[INchix]

Thanks!!!!:yiipchick

 

[montana ducks]

There's really no overstating how much they poop. Our answer has been to make a mobile run for them which gets gradually moved around the yard then at night they are locked up in their coop (way too dangerous where we live to have them in any sort of coop that doesn't involve setting the fencing 6-12" into the ground and since we're renting we really don't want to go through that work just to find ourselves moving in a year.

Moving the run daily helps minimize the poop impact to any one given location on the yard.

BUT - I've been studying a lot and instead of viewing duck poop as a nuisance I think I should start viewing it as a resource. We're going to start raking it into a compost pile to be used in a year or so. Changing my mindset about it has helped me, in a weird way, get excited about all of the poop.

Because Lord, there's a lot of poop.

 

[lynnee]

What I did was covered the whole floor of the pen in straw and changed it once a week because straw is really cheap and it also keeps the bugs and smell down.